One of the Boys
by x nequila x
Summary: Bella is Edward's best friend, has been for years; she has feelings for him. Over the summer Bella changes, now she's back and Edward's fallen for her. Will a dare change everything? Will they get together, or will something or someone stand in their way?
1. Prologue

**Summary - Bella is Edward's best friend, she has been for years, but as she grows up she starts to develop feelings for him, but he doesn't? Over the summer, Bella changes, she's back and Edward has fallen for her, but does Bella still want him? What will it take to get them together? Will a simple dare change everything? And will it be for the better, or the worse?**

**This story was inspired by the song "One of the boys" by Katy Perry**

**AN:/ Please read and review! Oh, and check out my other story, hope you like them both! :)**

**Sorry it's so short, but this is just the prologue, the chapters will be longer!**

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Prologue

I chased after her as fast as I could. Why was it she always managed to trip over a flat surface any other time just when she was walking slowly, but when it came to running away from me, she didn't trip once. It was almost as if she was suddenly cured of her clumsiness; as if the world wanted her to get away from me.

"Bella!" I reached out and grabbed her arm, just before her head was about to disappear into her truck.

"Let go of me!" When I didn't let go, she started to struggle. She eventually gave up, and stood up to face me, her face just inches away from mine, does God hate me or something? She was so close, yet so far. It just wasn't fair. Life wasn't fair. "Let. Go. Of. Me. Now," she muttered bitterly through clenched teeth.

"No. No, not until you talk to me."

"I don't want to talk to you, so just back off!"

"Okay, I'll change that. I'll let you go only _after _you have heard what I have to say." She didn't answer, she just glared at me icily, so I continued. "Bella, I'm sorry, I truly, truly am. What do you want me to do? I can't do anything. I can't change the past! Bella, I - " I never got to finish my sentence, apparently she had decided she had had enough.

"No, you can't change the past, and you know what? I'm glad you can't. Get this through your head. I. Am. Happy. Whatever I felt in the past is gone now. I makes no difference to me, so please just let me go home," she said, surprisingly calm, compared to her earlier screaming.

"I can't let you go, you didn't let me finish."

"Well, maybe I don't want to hear it, ever thought of that? No, of course you didn't!" she spat sarcastically. "Of course you didn't consider the fact that I don't worship you like the rest of the girls. You didn't consider the fact that I don't like you. No, you didn't, because you are such a self-centred arrogant pig, that you don't think of anything but yourself. In your brain, everyone loves you, anyone would be happy to be Edward Cullen's best friend; you think it's a privilege if you even speak to someone at school. But you know what? It isn't! You're no better than any of the other big-headed idiots! So just leave me alone!" Apparently we had abandoned any sense of calmness completely, and resulted to a full-blown argument.

"Bella, I'm sorr -"

"It's too late now," she screamed at me. "I'm happy! I don't need this!" She got into her old Chevy, slamming the door afterwards, as if to prove her point further.

I was so stupid. Unbelievably stupid. I never used to know what I wanted, and now I had finally figured it out, I might have left it too late. What I wanted had been right in front of me for practically the whole my whole life, and the person I wanted was in that rusty, old Chevy; driving away from me.

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**AN:/ Again, so sorry it's short, but I don't want to tell you the entire story in just the prologue, you have to wait for the rest!**

**Please review! Press that button and make my day! :)**


	2. Chapter One

**AN:/ Thank you to those who have added my story to their favourites/alert and to those who have reviewed!**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter :)**

**Please read and review!**

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Chapter One

Great, yet another day of school. Sense the sarcasm? On the plus side, it's the weekend tomorrow, and there's only a week left, and then I have the whole of the summer to hang around with my friends, both the Cullens and the guys down at La Push. Mainly the guys at La Push though, I'm trying to distance myself from the Cullens, particularly Edward. I was just getting _too _close to him. I mean, I've known him almost the whole of my life, our parents were best friends, until his died in a car crash, but that's not the point. Lately I've been liking him _too much_, I know you can love your friends, but this definitely does not feel like the love I have for Jasper or Rosalie. When he walks towards me, I find myself worrying about how I look, if my hair is messy, if the make-up Alice has forced upon me still looks sophisticated or if it looks slutty, and the weirdest part is I never feel like that about anyone. I don't normally care what people think about me, if they chose to judge me on how I look then they are just shallow and are not worth my time.

_No, _I thought to myself. _Don't think about _him. _It doesn't help_. And in all honesty, when I think of Edward, I think of how godly he looks and how caring he is when he isn't acting the part of the most popular boy in school. Also, Edward is amazingly smart; popular, intelligent, kind, friendly (the majority of time, but he can act like a complete idiot when he is trying to impress 'the guys') and just generally.... perfect. I sighed dreamily at this point, before I realised what I was doing and shook my head to clear myself of that thought. _See, I told you thinking about him doesn't help._

I finally managed to drag myself out of bed after checking the clock and seeing that I had been thinking about Edward for about half an hour and now really had to hurry to get ready on time. I quickly slipped on my skinny jeans (Alice threatened to drag me shopping every weekend for the rest of my life if I did not wear at least one Alice-approved item of clothing every day; of course, then she would complain that they 'totally don't match', typical Alice), my simple, black strappy top that 'hugs my curves' as Alice likes to say. Apparently I have an amazing hour-glass figure, I really don't see what everyone is talking about, but after hours of arguing I decided to just accept the compliment and nod along. I quickly brushed my hair, making sure that it wasn't sticking up at all sorts of odd angles, then I rushed downstairs, grabbed a slice of toast, which I munched on whilst trying to find my black flats; Alice would be thrilled, the whole of my outfit today was Alice-approved. Call me a suck-up if you want, but I was really hoping that if I made her happy today, she would let me off tomorrow; unfortunately, I seriously doubt it.

I rushed to my truck, tripping along the way and knocking my knee on the concrete, already I was losing the battle between me and the floor. Bella - nil, Floor - 1.

I started my truck, the loud engine scared me slightly as I haven't used it for a long time, I usually get a ride with one of the Cullens, but to put the distancing myself plan to action, I decided that had to stop, it really didn't help when it was just me and Edward in a car alone together, especially when he leaned over me to grab a CD, or something else he required from the floor. That reminds me, lets get some use from the CD player that the Cullens insisted on buying me for my birthday last year that, so far, I think I have used a grand total of 10 times; I don't even remember what CD is currently in it for goodness sake! I pressed the on button and waited for the music to start. Once I recognised the song I started belting the lyrics to my favourite band. Good Charlotte!

_In the beginning, I tried to warn you,_

_You play with fire, it's gonna burn you,_

_And here we are now, same situation,_

_You never listened, I never listened,_

_Now I'm thinking of a way that I can make an escape,_

_It's got me caught up in a web and my heart's the prey,_

_Do you really wanna throw your heart away?_

_Away, away,_

_Everybody's hurt somebody before,_

_Everybody's been hurt by somebody before,_

_You can change, but you'll always come back for more,_

_It's a game, and we're all just victims of love,_

_Don't try to fight it, victims of love,_

_You can't decide it, victims of love,_

_Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, victims of love,_

_Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh_

_Now you back-track, you're running away,_

_'Cause it just happened again and you just want it to end,_

_You're trying your best not to let yourself go cold, so cold,_

_And you're thinking of all the things you wanted to say, _

_But when you open up your mouth it don't come out that way,_

_Are you really gonna throw your heart away?_

Okay, I really think I need to change the song now, it's making me think too much of myself, because I am pretty much throwing my heart away. I never chose to fall for Edward, but it happened, and I am just a victim in this, a victim of the worst type; a victim of love. I skipped the song, and heard the tinkling sound of the piano start. _Hmmm... Edward plays the piano. No, stop linking everything back to Edward, how do you expect to distance yourself when you can't stop thinking about him for even a minute? _I desperately tried to halt my non-stop obsessing and listened to the lyrics of the music, singing along all the while, but of course when you think about the lyrics it really doesn't help a person in my situation. For goodness sake, this is just getting plain annoying now.

_I smile, you laugh, I look away,_

_I sigh, you ask me why I say:_

_I'm ok, and I'm just feeling down,_

_Your hand on mine, I hear the words:_

_If only love had found us first,_

_Our lives they would be different,_

_So I stand, and wait,_

_I am just a man,_

_Oh, where would we be now baby?_

_If we found each other first_

_Where would we be now baby?_

_And now I must confess,_

_That I'm a sinking ship,_

_And I'm anchored by the weight of my heart,_

_'Cause it's filled with feelings,_

_But I'll keep my true thoughts locked,_

_Inside my heart's black box,_

_And it wouldn't be found,_

_It won't survive through the smoke or the wreckage,_

_So I crash, and burn,_

_I got a lot of things to learn,_

_Oh, where would we be now baby? _

_If we found each other first,_

_What would you do now darling,_

_If I said these simple words:_

_I'll wait, I'll wait,_

_As long as you want,_

_Where would we be now baby?_

Damn all these stupid love songs, I mean they are _amazing _love songs, but not great to listen to when you have fallen for a guy that you really want to unfall for. Unfall? Lift? No, let's just say I didn't want to fall for him. Well, I didn't want to fall for him anymore than I already have.

I parked my old Chevy just after the next song started, and saw the Cullens waiting for me by Edward's Volvo on the other side of the parking lot. Okay, let's try putting the whole distancing myself thing to action. I smiled slightly at the Cullens, who were now smiling and waving at me, and started walking towards the school building. Of course, I made the mistake of glancing backwards, which just made me feel guilty for ignoring my best friends, as I saw Emmett's and Alice's faces fall; Edward stared at me with a crease between his eyebrows, I just wanted to walk in his direction and smooth it out with my finger. _Stop it now! It really, really isn't helping! _

As if it's really that easy.

I don't know how I did it, but I found it in myself to turn my head away from my best friends and the guy I had fallen for, and kept on walking towards the entrance of the school.

"Bella! Bella!" Did I really just think they would let me walk away from them like that? Did I really think it could ever possibly be that simple. Of course it wouldn't! They would know that something is wrong now, and Alice would not give up until she got some kind of answer from me. That's just great, on top of hurting myself by pulling away from them, I'm also making them hurt, upset and curious. Damn it! Too late now though.

I picked up my pace a little hoping that once I was in the school building that they would give up and decide that I just don't want to talk to them at the moment. But of course, life is never that simple. I, being my typical clumsy self, managed to trip over thin air in my haste to get away from the Cullens. I braced myself to fall head-first onto the hard concrete, but it never came. Just before I was about to connect with the floor, I felt strong, smooth arms wrap around my waist. The only problem was I knew these arms too well. I had grown up with these arms catching me when I fell. I've felt these arms around me when I need comfort. And I just want to snuggle into these arms and stay there for the rest of my life. For these were the arms of the one and only Edward Cullen. This was just more proof that I needed to start living my life without Edward being a huge part of it. I needed to stop relying on Edward to be there to save me, because one day he won't be and if I let myself fall for him completely, that would just hurt twice as badly. I needed to find someone else to rely on; and fast.

I opened my eyes, and found myself staring at the ground, just a couple of inches from my face. I felt Edward slowly lift me into a standing position, as he had done so many times before, and then make sure that I was balanced, before hesitantly pulling his arms away from me, testing to see if I would fall again. After he saw that I could stand on my own two feet, he hastily moved his arms away from me, obviously worrying about what my reaction would be after I blantantly ignored him and the rest of the Cullens a minute ago.

He opened his mouth to speak, only to close it again a few seconds after. Apparently he was rethinking what he was going to say. Finally he seemed to have decided the best way to approach this situation. "Bella, are you okay?" What an ingenious question, it took him ages to come up with that?

I chose to stick to short impersonal answers, "Yep," I replied, before turning to start heading towards the school for the second time, and silently praying that I manage to make it there without any incidents this time. I guess God just didn't want me to get away that easily, because as soon as I started walking, someone moved into my path only a step or two in front of me. But I didn't notice until it was too late, I was too busy peering over my shoulder to see Edward's reaction to my unusually rude behaviour. I walked straight into the person in front of me, the only way I can describe it is that it is like walking straight into a brick wall. Only one person in the entire school is built like that, and I had also walked into this person too many times over my life. This person had to be Emmett. My hands shot out as quickly as possible to grab onto Emmett's arms, and luckily I avoided my inevitable collision with the ground for the second time in about two minutes. Not a very good start to the day, even for me.

"Why are you ignoring us Bella?" Emmett practically demanded. Okay, I knew that Emmett has been known to be quite up-front with people, but he had never been like this with me before and so it startled me slightly. I just stared at him dumbly, forgetting to let go of his arms and unable to form a sentence for a few seconds. But Emmett was being impatient today, so when I hesitated he decided to continue to question me. "Bella? What did we do? How do you expect us to make it better if you won't tell us? Bella? Are you listening to me? Come on, Bella! Answer me!" I thought it was about time I answered him before he started chanting things like 'Tell me, tell me, tell me!' and 'Bella, Bella, Bella!' as he has been known to persist until he gets an answer on numerous occasions. Stupid, stubborn, giant teddy-bear.

"Emmett," I began, but he continued to demand to know what was wrong. "Emmett," I said slightly louder; still no change. "Emmett!" I almost yelled. That seemed to get through to him as he quickly stopped his ranting and closed his mouth to wait patiently for my answer. Well, he was going to be sadly disappointed. "Bye." I said monotonously as I strolled past him. I knew he wouldn't let this go, but school was very nearly starting and Emmett always had to be on time, mainly for his safety, as Esme and Carlisle are known for being strict about school. Honestly, it's probably the reason all of the Cullen kids are so intelligent. But still, I knew he'd get me later, and the rest of them would probably join in the interrogating. I expect they'd threaten me with a whole weekend of shopping or Alice dressing me for the whole of the week, make-up included, just to get an answer out of me. I honestly didn't know what I was going to do. I mean, I don't have an answer to give them, and I can't think of something they have done recently to use as an excuse. Oh God, I was stuck. I can't tell them I want to distance myself from them, and I can't lie to them, I never have been able to lie. I don't know what I am going to do, I really didn't think this whole plan through properly beforehand. I did know one thing though...

This is going to be a very long day.

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**AN:/ I hope you enjoyed this chapter, as promised, it is by far longer than the prologue **

**For any one who wanted to know, the songs in this chapter were:**

**Victims of love - Good Charlotte**

**Where would we be now - Good Charlotte**

**As you can see, I am a Good Charlotte fan :)**

**I will try to update as soon as possible**

**Please review this story, I welcome any comments and ideas for my stories and will consider each and every one of them.**


	3. Chapter Two

**AN:/ I forgot to mention this in my other two chapters but, if you are a fan of primeval, sign the petition to bring it back! The links are on my profile.**

**Okay, here's another chapter. **

**Please review! Pretty please with an Edward on top?**

Chapter 2

BPOV

Argh.... Why is life so complicated? Can't it just be simple once in a while? For example, I like Edward, wouldn't it just be so much goddamn simpler if he just liked me back? But _noooo_, life can't work that way, it has to be as hard as possible on people and watch them make all the wrong decisions and muck their lives up even further. Okay, rant over... for now at least.

I managed to avoid seeing any of the Cullens up until lunch, but this was the time I was dreading, because then they will definitely know that something big is up. I mean, I asked _Mike Newton _if I could sit with him and his group at lunch. What the hell was I thinking? Oh, that's right, I wasn't. Any one is better than Mike flipping Newton. But that's just me, Queen of bad choices. Or Princess of bad choices, as the Prince I want wouldn't want me back even if I told him. Damn it! I almost made it a whole minute without thinking about _him_!

_Okay, just breathe. Just go and get your lunch, walk over to Mike's table and sit down. The Cullens are probably annoyed with you for continuously ignoring them anyway, they probably won't even want to talk to you, which will make your life a hell of a lot easier, _I thought to myself as reassurance. _Of course they won't want to see you, you have been being a cow for no reason whatsoever, well there is a reason, but you can't go up to them and go: 'Hey, sorry for being so horrible, but I have fallen for Edward, and so I am trying to distance myself from you lot to make it easier on me. I hope that is okay with you.' Yeah, that would be an amazing plan, just blurting out that you like Edward, and that you are only upsetting them because of you're own selfishness. If they don't hate you now, they would then._

I took at deep breath, bracing myself for the glares, possibly from the Cullens, and definitely from Tanya and Lauren, they've never liked me, but I really don't know why, I've never hurt or upset them in any way, but that's not important, I wouldn't want them to like me anyway, they're horrible, shallow, self-centred bimbos; definitely not the kind of people I want for friends. I was pretty sure I would get glares, but I also thought I would get some longing glances as well, from, I shuddered just thinking their names, Mike Newton, Tyler Crowley and possibly Eric as well, but he's a bit on and off with me, let's just hope today he has decided to turn permanently off. I finally managed to work up enough courage, so I hesitantly walked forward into the canteen.

My first thought was that I needed to find the Cullens, and there they were at their usual table, in the corner, out of the way, hoping not to gain too much attention from their many admirers. Yes, I have mentioned that Edward was 'godly' but honestly the whole family was good looking. They were all unbelievably pale, but somehow that just added to their good looks. Rosalie was a blond, but not one of those stereotypical ditzy blonds. She was thin and really looked like she should be on the front cover of a magazine. Next to her was Edward. Oh God, Edward. He had unruly bronze hair, slightly ginger, but brown was the dominant colour. His face, well, it was perfect. As was the rest of him. I sighed dreamily before continuing my examination of the group. Alice was small, but still intimidating with short black spiky hair that stopped just above her shoulders. She was completely obsessed with shopping and fashion, she always had to have the new 'in' clothing and accessories, which was unfortunate for me as I was the one who had to endure her long and gruelling shopping trips, sometimes these trips ended up having deadly consequences, like complete and utter loss of feeling in my feet, or a whole new wardrobe of clothes I would be forced to wear. Sat next to her was her boyfriend Jasper, he had short curly, blond hair; he had dark green eyes that always seemed so understanding and made you just want to spill your guts to him, an advantage he has used on me many times, Jasper has always been chief interrogator, because he is the best, I just hope they have given up with me.

* * Flashback * *

_I had just entered the Cullens' house to find everyone gathered in one room, all of them were sat in a row on chairs, all facing the same direction, apart from Jasper, who was pacing backwards and forwards in front of the others. What the hell was going on now?_

_"Hey guys. What are you all doing?" _

_I got a few mumbled greetings. It seemed, whatever they were doing, many of them were not happy with this particular activity._

_Jasper was the only one to answer my question. "I am in the middle of an interrogation Bella," he answered, before turning straight back to his 'suspects'. For what, I had no clue, but this was the Cullens, let's face it, they are hardly a normal family, and I don't think they ever will be._

_"Umm... care to ellaborate on that?" I asked uncertainly. I really shouldn't have bothered asking, as Jasper just put his hand up and ignored my question, apparently too caught up in his own thoughts to answer me._

_Finally he spoke, "Okay, I think I am going to question you one by one. Alice you're first." Whatever it was they were practically on trial for, I was going to find out about soon, I would just listen to Jasper's questions. Everyone apart from Alice left the room eagerly. I wonder how long they had been kept in here. _

_"Okay, let's just cut straight to the chase. Did you eat my cookies?" I very almost laughed, but I managed to stop myself when I felt a bubble of laughter threaten to explode from my mouth at this ridiculous situation._

_"No," Alice answered, looking him straight in the eyes. It really was hard to doubt her, she spoke with such sincerity._

_"Is that your final answer?" Okay, this has turned from an interrogation about cookies, to a damn game show. What is it with this family?_

_"Yes, I am telling you I did not eat your cookies."_

_"Okay, I believe you. You are free to leave the interrogation room." I snorted at that, I'm sorry but it was just so hilarious._

_"What are you scoffing about Bella?" Jasper asked._

_"The interrogation room?" I asked sarcastically. He just shrugged his shoulders. "Are you seriously interrogating people about eating your damn cookies? What is it with you and your stupid cookies?" I asked curiously._

_"First, never diss the cookies. Secondly, I am interrogating people about eating my cookies, then it might finally get through to them how seriously I take the offense of eating my food without my permission or behind my back."_

_"First, I will say whatever I like, and second, shouldn't you be bringing in your next 'suspect' now?" He frowned at my sarcasm, at which I just smiled innocently._

_"Fine. Emmett come in!" And immediately the door was flung open to reveal a very nervous looking Emmett. Seriously, I'd never seen Emmett look this... vulnerable._

_"Please, sit down Emmett. Now tell me, did you eat my cookies?" _

_"No," Emmett said, but for some reason he was unable to meet Jasper in the eyes._

_"Emmett?" Jasper asked, raising his eyebrows at his adoptive brother._

_"I didn't, I swear." I couldn't be sure, because it was pretty dark in here, but I thought I saw Emmett's hands shaking and perhaps even a bead of sweat appear on Emmett's forehead. Wow, Emmett was really scared of Jasper._

_"Really Emmett?" Jasper asked disbelieving. To be honest, it was quite obvious it was Emmett by his reaction._

_"Okay, I had one." Jasper raised his eyebrows again. "Okay, I had three. No, I had a packet. Alright, I had them all! Are you happy now? I ate the damn cookies!" Emmett yelled at Jasper._

_"You owe me three packets of cookies."_

_"What? I only ate two."_

_"Consider it a lesson learned. When you steal my cookies, you have to pay interest." Jasper strolled out of the room with a smug expression on his face, happy with his day's work and that he had finally cracked the mystery of the stolen cookies. _

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I shuddered at the thought that those interrogation skills could be used on me soon. Next to Jasper was Emmett. Emmett was a giant, he was big in every way, he had broad shoulders, he was tall, muscly and built like a wall, which I confirmed earlier when I walked straight into him. Looking at him from a distance, you would definitely thank the stars you are not on his bad side, but Emmett really is nothing but a big, cuddly teddy-bear, perhaps like the BFG. He wouldn't hurt a fly, well unless they hurt his family of friends then he turns nasty, oh yeah, and unless they steal his food. But still he only uses his fists when he has no other choice.

* * Flashback * *

_"Hey. Did it hurt when you fell?" Some guy I knew from one of my lessons asked me during lunch. _

_"What?" I snapped, I really didn't have patience for random guys who come over and try to chat me up, I mean, they come up with the cheesiest pick-up lines. Like one guy came up to me and went: "Do you have a map, 'cause I'm lost in your eyes." Other ones included: "If I could rearrange the alphabet, I'd put U and I together," "Help a good cause, take me home with you!" "Are you from Jamaica? Because ja makin' me crazy!" "I miss my teddy-bear, would you sleep with me?" "Are you free tonight, or will it cost me?" "I know milk does the body good, but damn how much have you been drinking?" "I'm new in town, can I have the directions to your apartment?" "Do you believe in love at first sight or do I have to walk by again?" I left the room and some guy said to me: "Aren't you forgetting something? Me!" Some guy even tried to compare me to an alien, I mean, is that meant to be flattering? He said: "Is your dad an alien, because there's nothing like you in this world." They're just plain corny, why can't guys come up to you, introduce themselves, talk to you, get to know you better and then ask for a mobile number, not spew cheesy chat-up line after cheesy chat-up line. As you can see, it really annoys me. I swear, if he says "When you fell from heaven," I am going to beat the hell out of him. Well, maybe I'll get Emmett, Edward and Jasper to do it but that's not the point, if he says that he is going to get the hell beaten out of him one way or another._

_"I said: Did it hurt? I mean, when you fell from heaven?"_

_AAAAAARRRRGGGHHH!!! I am seriously going to murder someone soon. Why can't guys just leave me alone? Plus, I have a really bad temper, so I am the last person they should be coming up to, at least Alice and Rosalie can laugh about it and retort with some witty comment, me? No way, I was too angry to form a coherent sentence. Actually, getting angry doesn't seem to deter them so let's try Rose and Alice's technique. Okay, okay, something witty to deter them...._

_"Did it hurt you?" I asked him, turning his question back on him._

_"Did what hurt, darling?" he asked, leaning in closer so his face was only inches from mine; I cringed back from him in disgust._

_"I said: Did it hurt? I mean, when you were dropped on your head when you were a kid? That is the reason why you are so annoying, stupid and cheesy isn't it?" I asked innocently, with a touch concern in my voice._

_"Uhh... um.. yeah, that is the reason. I'm just gonna... yeah," he stuttered whilst backing away from me. I waved at him, and he took that as a signal that he was allowed to leave my presence. He stumbled in his haste to escape, I have to admit I see why Emmett and Jasper laugh at me when I trip, it really is quite amusing, but me always being the victim I never see it that way, but watching someone else trip is very amusing, shame I don't see it more often. Next plan on my list: trip over one of the Cullen boys. That is second after: make it a whole day without tripping once. I think that one has been on there for the whole of my life, yet I still don't seem to have mastered the art of walking. _

_I could hear laughter and turned to look at all of the Cullens who were staring at me in amusement. I soon joined them as we laughed about the look on that guy's face when I asked him if he had been dropped on the head as a child. I thought I could relax for the rest of lunch, but of course, that didn't go as planned, as the nearest thing to Forks High's school bully came up to me. He was known for smoking and drinking excessive amounts and wearing baggy clothes. I mean seriously? What is the point in wearing clothes that so obviously don't fit you. One, it's not very flattering, and two, I don't really want to see his underwear thank you very much. Why do the horrible one always go for me? _

_Ewww, I could smell vodka on his breath and smoke on his clothes, definitely not the nicest scents to follow you around. "Hey sugar. I heard what you said to that guy, and I just thought you should know that I was impressed, and so, for now, I will allow you to be my girlfriend," he spoke like it was a privilege. I cannot believe he just said that! Who does he think he is? I don't want to be his girlfriend, and he can't come up to me and practically claim me as his own, it just doesn't work like that!_

_"Excuse me?!" I demanded. I was normally a shy kind of girl, but with him I was going to make an exception._

_"You're welcome," he smirked at me. What the hell? I ought to slap that cocky grin right off of his face. But I won't, nothing can be solved with violence. _

_"What if I don't want to be? Ever thought of that?" I asked abruptly._

_"Well, if you want to play hard to get then that is your choice," he said off-handedly. But suddenly his mood did a one-eighty, he went from acting cool and like he didn't care less to creepy, intense and angry. "But know this, I _always _get the girl I want."_

_"Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I will be the exception to this 'rule'" I said, using my fingers to symbolise the speech marks for the word rule._

_"_No one _is the exception to the rule. I will have you, whether you like it or not, one way or another," he threatened, leaning closer and closer towards me with every word, so that by the end he was right in my face, but I refused to back down, I may be shy, but I don't let people push me around; ever. But I never got to speak my witty come-back as Emmett rose from his seat and stalked towards this demanding, rude person with an air of authority._

_"Take a hint, she doesn't want you, so leave her alone," Emmett ordered, all the while glaring at the stranger. _

_"But I want her, and what I want I get," the guy said, turning to glare murderously at Emmett. Oh dear, if neither of them back down soon, this could get pretty ugly. Emmett _never _backs down, but this guy seems like the pestering, stubborn, persisting type as well. Damn it!_

_"Well, it doesn't work like that, you can't just claim things or people as your own, and hopefully you never will be able to. Besides, Bella is way too good for you, you'd never be able to get her even if you weren't a complete waste of space." Emmett peered behind the guy to give me a reassuring grin. Okay, I'm getting bored of calling him 'the guy' so I am now going to refer to him as the git, the guy, or rude-o._

_The git's face screwed up in a sneer that was directed at Emmett, "I am not a waste of space, and she is lucky to have _me_, _I _am way too good for _her_. She's not even worth this, I'm not gonna stand here and take these insults to fight for this worthless girl," he said gesturing vaguely to me. How dare he? He doesn't even know me! He only thinks that because I haven't thanked him for the great privilege of being deemed worthy enough to be his girlfriend. It's just because I don't smoke and drink and bully people to get my own way. In other words, he only thinks that because I am the complete opposite to him, because I actually act like a decent human being. _

_"Hey, you can't say that, you don't even - " But I didn't get to finish my sentence as Emmett's booming voice rose above my own._

_"How dare you say that about Bella! You can't just throw around insults, especially about someone who hasn't ever done anything bad to you, and you don't even know her. You just assumed that because she isn't like you that she is worthless. But that's not true. Actually, it is completely wrong. It is not Bella that is worthless, not in the least, Bella is one of the nicest people I know. It is _you _who is worthless, you don't like nice people. You like horrible, rude, arrogant people, people like yourself, and people that worship you as a God. In other words, people who are thick enough and gullible enough to fall for your stupid little mind games and believe that you are a good person and everyone else is wrong. So just get lost before I do something I really regret." And this was true, whenever Emmett's anger took control over him, he would always feel insanely guilty afterwards for acting so rashly, but he can't help it. It is instinctual for Emmett to defend his family and friends, even if it meant with his fists when necessary. But if Emmett lost control this time, it would be bad, I'd never seen him this angry. If rude-o wanted to fight back, this could get very dangerous._

_The guy turned to me, looking frustrated. "You know you want me really, every girl does. Every girl, even the shy ones, want to be with me, the coolest guy in town. This is the last chance I am giving you, you can choose to be with me, or you can stay here and hang out with these losers for the rest of your high school years. Me, I can get you anything you want, these guys will just give you trouble. So what is your decision?" he asked me confidently. Once he was finished he smirked at me, like he knew what my answer would be, and he really did look confident that I was going to fall at his feet, begging him to take me with him, away from the Cullens. Let me just tell you, that was never going to happen._

_"Nah, I'm alright thanks, I'll just stay here," I responded coolly._

_"What?" he demanded._

_"Are you deaf or something? I'm staying here," I repeated slowly, and patronisingly._

_"Are you insane?" he practically shouted at me, his voice rising a couple of octaves in outrage and disbelief. This whole situation really was quite amusing and if it wasn't happening to me, I am sure I would have laughed at the bully's face._

_"Nope, completely and utterly sane. At least I think so. I just don't want to hang out with a bunch of losers," I said honestly. I mean, I suck at lying. I really, really suck at it. So I tend to stick to the truth, I was probably the most honest person ever, because there was no point lying, I would just get found out straight away. Stupid facial expressions, and even stupider inability to lie._

_He smiled at me. "Then you must have meant to say you'll come with me then, you're just confused. Come with me," he said, offering me his hand, and when I didn't grab it, he tried to pull me up from my seat._

_"No, I'm staying here. I'm not going with you, like I said, I don't want to hang out with a bunch of losers."_

_"What?" he actually did shout now. Oh dear, he was very, very angry, and to be honest, he really was quite scary when he was angry. But this was just an average day for me, tomorrow I'll probably nearly get run over by a bus or something. I can't go one whole day without getting into some kind of dangerous situation._

_Suddenly I was no longer scared of this guy, just very aggravated and annoyed at how dense and cocky he was being. "You heard me! _You _are the losers! You and all your dumb friends. You think you can pressure people into giving you what you want. Well, here's a news flash for you, you can't! I will not go with you because I have amazing friends here, I don't need an arrogant pig and his stupid followers in my life. So do me a favour, and leave me the hell alone!"_

_"How dare - " He muttered darkly, whilst lifting his fist in the air ready to strike. I cringed away. I'm not a coward, but I'm not just going to stand there and voluntarily get beaten up when it can hopefully be avoided. But I didn't need to cringe away from him, as Emmett grabbed his clenched fist, twirled him around and punched him square in the nose before he could so much as lay a finger on me. I really do love Emmett. The guy just clutched his hand over his nose in an attempt to stop the bleeding a little bit. It didn't work, as blood start dripping down his chin and running through his fingers. I backed away as far as I could. I was already getting a little dizzy. Eurgh, I hate the smell of blood._

_"Now, you listen to me, you do not hurt my friends or family, or even threaten to hurt them for that matter. Otherwise you have to face me, and believe me I can do a lot worse than give you a broken nose. Do you understand me?" The guy just nodded and ran off as fast as he could without looking like he was being a coward and running away from opposition._

_As soon as he was gone, I ran up to Emmett and gave him a hug, thanking him for sticking up for me and telling him that he was the best friend ever._

_His only response was: "Hey, isn't that what friends are for? Besides, you're like family to me, little sis, and I will not let you get hurt." He may be a big bear but he always knew what to say to me. I really did like the sound of that. Family._

_* * * *_

I was pulled from my reminiscing my the sound of Mike's voice. He was waving from his group. I smiled and waved at him before heading to go get some food, although I really wasn't that hungry. Again, I couldn't help sneaking a look at the Cullens. Big mistake. I turned my head just to find them staring at me. They really did not look happy, but they also didn't look angry, they just looked hurt and upset. I really didn't understand how they could feel so much saddest over me. I mean, I'm really not that great.

I then made yet another big mistake. I didn't look away, but as soon as I turned around my eyes had locked with Edward's immediately, and to be honest, I pretty much melted on the spot. His eyes held so many emotions. Ranging from confusion to hurt, and I swear I might have even some form of adoration in his eyes. Well, that could just mean that he cared for me like a sister. As I cared for him like a brother before I fell for him and ruined everything.

I couldn't look away, I just stared straight back at him. But in my defense he didn't look away either. Finally, he seemed to gain control over himself and looked away to talk to his family. Luckily, once he turned I was released from my trance, it was almost as if his eyes had control over my actions.

I heard the scraping of chairs and turned around to look for the source of the noise, praying that it wasn't who I thought it was. But of course it was the Cullens.

And they were heading straight for me.

**AN:/ I hope you liked this chapter. This is just pretty much an insight into Bella's relationship with the Cullens and a little bit about the Cullens themselves**

**Please review and give me any comments and ideas you have about this story**


	4. AN

**A/N: Sorry, but this is not a new chapter!**

**I will delete this before I update again, because I hate having ANs in the middle of a story. **

**I would just like to know what point of view my readers would like the next chapter, which should be the interrogation, to be in. And also, if you want Bella to tell Edward how she feels or not, considering at the moment Edward does NOT feel the same way. I'll leave it up to you.**

**Please do give my any feedback for my story and your own ideas if you have any, I always want to know what people think about my story :) **

**Not many people are reviewing although there are many reading, so the next person to review will get a character based on them, and any one who gives me their ideas for my story, it could just be as simple as what point of view you want for the next chapter, you will hopefully get a preview of the next chapter, so I leave it up to you. Please review!**


	5. Chapter Three

**A/N: I'm so, so sorry that it has taken me so long to update. I've been ill for the past week, but I am finally back to full health. I would have update yesterday but my science teacher moved our coursework deadline and so I had to rush to finish it, so if you are going to blame anyone, you should blame her! lol**

**Anyway, as I am in my last year of school and it is the one that requires the most dedication, I would just like to warn all of my readers that updates may take longer than average, in the holidays it shouldn't be as bad, but I am given a lot of homework which is really time consuming, plus I have revision because I have LOADS of exams this year, and many of them are actually in January and so the teachers are loading us with homework to 'prepare' us. So I would just like to apologise for any future waits for updates.**

* * *

Chapter Three

EPOV

"Edward!" My so-called 'adorable' sister screamed, and when I say screamed I mean _screamed_, I swear she was half the reason we never had any problems with animals around our house. I mean, we live practically in the middle of the woods, and yet we have never had an animal visit our house, or even in the area of our house, and I believe Alice is the reason, it does make sense, her shrill shouting acts as an animal call, warning others that it is her territory; unfortunately the proof that it was her territory was spread throughout the house. Downstairs had been painted purple on the demand of Alice, the sofas are cream. Of course, Alice wanted purple, but the men of the household put up so much fuss she settled for cream sofas, but only on the condition that the cushions were purple. What does that say about the Cullen men? That we are scared as hell of Alice. We never dare go against Alice's decisions, with the fear that she will practically eat us. As pathetic as it sounds, it really is a constant fear within our household.

I still hadn't opened the door, so she started banging her fist against the solid wood; the noise probably echoed throughout the house."Edward! Get your annoying butt out of the bathroom now!" I'm surprised she hadn't lost her voice yet. Oh, how I wish that would happen.

"Alice, there is a perfectly good bathroom further down the corridor, why don't you just use that one instead of deafening everyone within a ten mile radius?"

"But this one has got all of my stuff in it!" She said in a whiny voice. Don't you just hate little sisters. "Please Eddy? Please," she practically begged. Hmm, this could be quite amusing. So I remained silent. "Eddy, please, I'm begging you! I -" She sounded like she was choking up, just because she couldn't get in the bathroom? "I - Edward, I need to get into this bathroom, please?"

I sighed, there was no way to win this, if I didn't let her, she would just go get Emmett to break the door down, and then all hell would break lose when Esme and Carlisle see what has happened to their house, just because Alice couldn't get into the bathroom. So I had no choice. I opened the door. "There you go, you annoying little midget, have the bathroom." This comment earned a scowl to form on her face and a grumpy sigh to leave her mouth. I smiles smugly and continued to tease her. "Don't frown, Alice. You'll make your lines even more visible." With that said, I walked off, glancing back to see Alice running into the bathroom with a look of complete horror on her face at the thought of having lines.

"Edward Cullen! How dare you worry me like that?!" I heard her shrill complaints as I walked down the stairs. I just chuckled.

I met Jasper as I stepped down onto the last step. He had a worried look on his face. "Hi Edward. What's happened with Alice? She's practically screaming the house down."

"Oh, nothing, she wanted the bathroom, so I gave it to her."

Jasper's eyebrows rose, he could tell there was more to this story then I was telling; Jasper could read people too well. "And?" he prompted.

"And.... I may have told her not to frown because she would make her lines more obvious," I stated, looking at the floor, like a child that had done something wrong, and was about to be scolded.

"You realise she is going to be freaking out about that all day now?" Jasper asked.

"Uh-huh, that's what makes it so funny," I said, grinning. I walked past Jasper, into the kitchen/dining room, to the smell of eggs and bacon. Mmm, sometimes Rosalie can be really spiteful, but you've got to appreciate her amazing cooking abilities.

She was obviously in a good mood today. She only ever cooks breakfast for everyone when she is in a good mood. When she's in a sour mood, she makes her own breakfast and then teases everyone else when we have to have cereals or toast. Like I said, she can be horrible. But for the past few months, she has seemed to calm down; she's rarely snappy anymore, and I think I know why.

Bella.

Ever since Rosalie finally decided to let Bella into her life, she has been so much happier. I think it's just Bella's laid back personality, it's rubbed off on us all; made us all more cheerful and changed us all. But the one we have seen the biggest change in is Rosalie. Example number one: she is actually friendly. Example number two: she let's her guard down, she's still wary about letting people in, but sometimes she can let go and just have fun. Example number three: she doesn't care what people think about her anymore; she does what she wants, when she wants and isn't afraid about what other people will be saying about her behind her back. There are countless other examples as well, but I really can't list them all. Rosalie has changed for the better thanks to Bella. End of.

"Hey Rosalie. Breakfast smells good," I complimented. She swivelled her head around so that she faced me and gave me a friendly smile as her greeting. Well, it's definitely better than her old greeting of: "Morning, buttmunch. How are you going to annoy me today?"

I grabbed a plate and took some food off of the huge pile that was on the table. There was no chance that all of this would be eaten. Oh, wait. I forgot about Emmett. Let me change that. There was no chance that any of this food would go to waste.

Speak of the devil, and there he is. Just at the moment, Emmett came charging down the stairs, screaming: "Food! Food! Must eat food!"

I didn't want to be around when Alice finally made it out of the bathroom so I quickly ate my food, grabbed my coat and left the table. "I'll wait for you lot by the car," I told Emmett and Rosalie as I made a hasty exit. Yes, it was stupid. Yes, I would have to face Alice in the car, but this way she had more time to calm down.

Half an hour later, I was sat in the front seat of the volvo driving to school, trying desperately to block out Alice's rambling about how I am horrible and that if I ever scared her like that again then I would suffer the consequences.

I was driving way over the speed limit, but I couldn't care less, as long as I got out of this car as soon as possible, and away from Alice.

When we finally arrived, I literally jumped out of the volvo, and slammed the door behind me.

Big mistake.

I had just leaned back on the side of my volvo to wait for Bella, when I saw Tanya coming my way. Argh... Can't she ever take a hint? She has got to be the most annoying, stubborn, persistent person ever! Why can't she just leave me the hell alone for once? Normally, when I see her in the school grounds, I move out of her sight. That doesn't always end so well though, last time I dived to the side to avoid her, not noticing that I was going head-first into a huge holly tree. That has got to have been one of the most painful things I have ever felt. What's worse though, was that I still didn't manage to avoid Tanya, she had heard me, came over, saw me lying on the floor with scratches all over my arms and any other exposed flesh, and said: "Aww, Eddy-poo. Are you okay? Do you want me to kiss it better?" She was a little bit surprised when I seemed to make a miraculous recovery, scrambled to my feet and sprinted as fast as I could away from her. I mean, what else was there to do?

There was only three options: Stay and let her kiss it better, that one was discarded immediately and would _never _happen. Option two: Reject her and tell her to leave me alone, that option was slightly more appealing, it could mean getting rid of her altogether, but I was never good with upsetting people, so I just keep prolonging it further. And the third and final option was: Run. Run as fast as I could away from that crazy person and hope to God that she decided not to chase me like she did the other time. That had to be the scariest moment of my life, imagine turning around and seeing Tanya running after you with her arms spread wide for a hug she was never going to receive. I mean, it's like a rhino charging. No, I'll change that. It's like an oompa-loompa charging at me, and she actually did slightly resemble an oompa-loompa with the amount of orange make-up she put on. So I took the third option, it was the easiest by far, plus she had been wearing high heels, it wasn't as easy for her to catch up with me. But unfortunately, this time, I didn't even get the chance to put option three into action as she had already seen me.

She finally reached me. I swear when she walks it looks like she could so easily overbalance with the amount of force she is putting in to each stride to make her hips move about half a metre from side to side, it is actually hilarious to watch, but only if she wasn't walking towards _me_ that is.

"Hi Eddy," she greeted me happily.

"Hi Tanya. You know I hate being called Eddy."

"But it's so cute," she chirped shrilly. Argh, why, oh why, did she have to prey on me? She was annoying me already and she'd barely said anything. I was already in a slightly bad mood because of Alice this morning, so I snapped.

"No, it's Tanya. I don't like being called Eddy, so stop calling me Eddy."

She looked shocked that I had spoken to her in that way. Actually she was probably shocked because no one spoke to her in that way.

"So- Sorry," she stammered. "I'll just go," she said slowly. At last, I managed to get rid of her. But I had a feeling she wasn't gone for good, no matter how shocked or annoyed she was that I had snapped at her. Beside me, Emmett started to chuckle at my sour expression, which made me scowl even more.

I moved back into my previous position as I waited for Bella. She should be here in a few minutes; she's never late, but neither is she usually that early. I smiled as her rusty old truck entered through the school gates. Just seeing Bella tended to put everyone in a better mood.

But today, she didn't seem like her usual happy self. Normally when she saw us, she would smile and walk over. Today, she gave us a slight smile and started walking towards the school building. Something was going on; and I needed to know what it was.

"Bella!" I called; she didn't turn around. "Bella!" I shouted once again. Still she didn't respond. Okay, I have ruled out her not being able to hear us because the rest of my family were also now calling her. So she's ignoring us? What is going on? What did we do?

If she wasn't going to come over to us, I was going over to her. And I would find out what was wrong. So I jogged through the crowd that had gathered. Sad really, the biggest gossip in town would probably be that Bella Swan was ignoring the Cullens.

I had almost reached her when I saw her trip over her own feet and lose her balance. I sped up sprinting over to her before she fell on her face. I just managed to reach her and wrap my arms around her waist before she hurt herself. I pulled her back up into a standing position, tested her balance and when I was satisfied that she could stand without falling over again, I quickly moved my arms away from her. I didn't know what her reaction would be to me saving her. If I were the one that had upset her, who knows?

I opened my mouth to demand what was wrong, then re-thought it. If she was upset or angry at us, was the best idea really to demand her tell me what we had done to annoy her? No. So I didn't ask. Instead, I asked: "Bella, are you okay?"

"Yep," she answered nonchantantly. She looked at me strangely, I couldn't really place the emotion. But I could tell that she was trying very hard to remain indifferent and uncaring. This wasn't Bella. This wasn't the Bella I knew and cared about. That most people cared about.

Then she turned her back to me and continued walking towards the school a little slower than before. But she wasn't careful enough, as she didn't anticipate Emmett blocking her path, and instead of stopping or walking around him, she managed to walk straight into his huge bulk. I started to move forward to prevent her froming falling to the floor, but this time she was quicker and grabbed onto Emmett's arms to steady herself.

Emmett was scowling at Bella. That never happened. Emmett thought of Bella as his little sister, he could never stay mad at her. He was obviously angry with her for ignoring us. But I know Emmett, he looks tough but really he's probably more upset than angry that Bella isn't talking to us.

"Why are you ignoring us Bella?" Emmett demanded. Bella looked more than a little shocked that Emmett has used that tone with her. She had seen this side of him before, but it had never, ever been directed at her.

Bella didn't answer quick enough and Emmett started rambling before she had the chance to as well.

"Bella? What did we do? How do you expect us to make it better if you won't tell us? Bella? Are you listening to me? Come on, Bella! Answer me!" Emmett's voice was getting gradually louder and louder. Bella kept trying to get a word in, but Emmett wasn't finished with his rant and continued even though it looked like Bella was going to give him what he wanted and tell him why she was ignoring us.

Eventually Bella had had enough of Emmett's non-stop demands. "Emmett," she started. But Emmett continued nonetheless. "Emmett," Bella said slightly louder, trying to get him to stop talking. "Emmett!" she practically yelled at him. That seemed to shut him up, as he quickly snapped his mouth shut, looking at her expectantly, waiting for her answer.

"Bye." Bella then turned on her heels and hurried towards the school for the third time; trying to avoid us for the third time. I felt a sharp pang in my chest at the thought that Bella really didn't want to talk to us.

Alice, Rosalie and Jasper came walking over to us. "What was that about?" Alice asked, looking miserable. Bella was her best friend, and Alice must have felt almost as upset as I did about this whole situation.

"We don't know. But I'm gonna find out."

* * *

**A/N: Again, I apologise for the delay on this chapter, and just thought I should warn you that there may be another delay; school work just doesn't stop coming.**

**Please review and leave any comments and ideas you have for this story. I love reading what you think about my story, and it makes me happy knowing my readers enjoy my story. =)**


	6. Chapter Four

**A/N: I'm so sorry. I really, really am. I've been meaning to get round to this, but more coursework kept being set and then I've had English mock and other tests. But I've finally got round to writing it, which I decided to do instead of my triple science coursework; I just felt obliged to give you something, as I know how much I hate having to wait really long for the next update.**

**Anyway, I hope you like the new chapter =)**

**I haven't been getting many reviews so I've decided to set a target, if I don't get more than 15 then I will not be posting the next chapter for a **_**very **_**long time. Evil, I know, but it normally works. If I get more, then I will update sooner than usual.**

**Anyway, on with the chapter**

Chapter Four

EPOV

_Eventually Bella had had enough of Emmett's non-stop demands. "Emmett," she started. But Emmett continued nonetheless. "Emmett," Bella said slightly louder, trying to get him to stop talking. "Emmett!" she practically yelled at him. That seemed to shut him up, as he quickly snapped his mouth shut, looking at her expectantly, waiting for her answer._

_"Bye." Bella then turned on her heels and hurried towards the school for the third time; trying to avoid us for the third time. I felt a sharp pang in my chest at the thought that Bella really didn't want to talk to us._

_Alice, Rosalie and Jasper came walking over to us. "What was that about?" Alice asked, looking miserable. Bella was her best friend, and Alice must have felt almost as upset as I did about this whole situation._

_"We don't know. But I'm gonna find out."_

After the whole incident with Bella I really didn't feel in the mood for learning, but, as usual, I went anyway. Esme and Carlisle would kill me if I skipped school for no reason. My only argument would be that it wasn't for nothing, but, honestly, that is the most pathetic excuse that has ever been used.

So I stomped to my first class, and then the second. Still, by the third, I could not concentrate on anything but trying to figure out the reason for Bella's bizarre, dismissive mood. Still no luck. I ended up staring at the clock, willing the hands to move faster so that I could go to lunch and have a, hopefully, reasonable and productive conversation with Bella, and then everything can just go back to normal.

I almost scoffed out loud over my thoughts. Yeah right. When has life ever been that straightforward? If it were everything would be easy and there would be no poverty, and everyone would have everything they had ever wanted in life.

At last, the bell rang, by which time I was practically jigging up and down on my chair like a three year old waiting for a present on Christmas morning. I literally leaped out of my chair, almost falling over in the process, which was very unusual for me. Bella was always the one who was falling over. Just thinking of all the good memories that me and Bella shared together hurt a little; thinking that I could have done something stupid to throw that all away, and prevent us from having more fun together. The whole of our family considered Bella to be one of us. To us, she was a Cullen. We weren't actually related to each other anyway, so she was just like another adopted sibling. My little sister.

I decided to distract myself from the topic of Bella for a few minutes, because I knew that was what would be on my mind for the rest of lunch. But it was no use, until this mess was set straight, I didn't seem capable of thinking about anything else.

I sped up my pace as I saw Alice and Jasper just entering the canteen a few metres in front of me.

"Hey!" I called. They both turned around to look at me as I jogged towards them. Jasper gave me a smile, relaxed, as usual. Nothing seemed to faze him. Alice, on the other hand, looked rather worried and upset. Her smile was more forced and looked as though she was just about ready to burst into tears any second.

"Hey, hey, hey," I cooed soothingly. I put my arm around her shoulders to give her an awkward one-armed hug, as Jasper was still had a firm grip around her waist.

"I just - I don't know what's going on. What did I... What did we do? Why won't she talk to us, Edward? She's my best friend. What could have happened that was so bad that she would no longer to me? To _all _of us? What - " Alice stuttered, beginning to sound slightly hysterical. I could tell she was struggling not to cry, and I knew that if she continued talking and over-thinkng everything she would, indeed, begin to cry. And let me tell you something, Edward Cullen does not deal well with crying girls, especially those he is particularly fond of. Yes, Alice may be slightly annoying, and really hyperactive, but she was a sister to me, even if she wasn't related to me biologically, and if she was upset, that just pushed me even further into the dark clouds of depression.

"Shhh, Alice. We're going to find Bella, talk to her and straighten this whole thing out. I'll do whatever I can to get her to talk to us again. I'm sure Bella wouldn't be doing this if she felt that it was not necessary, she's not a spiteful person. She wouldn't mean to cause you any pain. Well, she wouldn't want to cause pain to anyone. Shh, please don't cry." Jasper's gaze was fixed on the back of Alice's head as she began crying quietly into my chest. I decided that he was probably the best person to cheer her up so I silently mouthed to him that he should take over. He responded quickly, and wrapped his other arm around Alice to pull her towards his body and into a full embrace.

I strolled into the canteen, feeling slightly nervous at the prospect of seeing Bella. At the prospect of Bella ignoring me again. But she wasn't there. Good, it would give me time to prepare. I really had no clue what I was going to say to her. I hadn't been in this kind of situation before.

I grabbed some food, not really paying any attention to the food that I was buying, before going to sit at a table Emmett and Rosalie were already sitting at. Emmett was already examining the room every few seconds and both of them kept looking up anytime someone entered through the door.

"Hi, guys," I greeted quietly. They both nodded their heads in my direction, acknowledging my presence, but they didn't look at me, as they both continued to look around for Bella's arrival. "Will you guys just look at me? We can't all pounce on her as soon as she enters the room, that's not fair, plus that would just cause a scene, and that's the last thing we need. We don't need any more gossip being spread about the Cullens and I'm sure Bella wouldn't appreciate it either. Hey! Look at me!" They both finally responded to me and moved their heads minutely so they could see me. "Relax. We will talk to her when the opportunity arises, not as soon as she comes in. Got it?"

Rosalie rolled her eyes at my need to take control, and Emmett just huffed like a child that hadn't gotten its way. Well, to be honest, he did act like a child most of the time, so this really wasn't that out of character. He really was just a child that had been put in his place.

Alice and Jasper joined us after a couple of minutes and relayed to them what I had told Rosalie and Emmett. Jasper and Alice however agreed with me, which caused Emmett to scowl at them as though they had betrayed his trust.

I sat picking at my food, as I waited for Bella. I tried to keep myself composed, but all I wanted to do was run out the door in search for Bella. Multiple times I had to consciously stop myself from running my hands through my hair or pinching the bridge of my nose, as the rest of my family would know that these were the signs that I was frustrated, upset, or struggling with something. This time, unfortunately, I was all of them, but I couldn't show them just how anxious I was, because they'd try to persuade me to find Bella now, and I know it would not take much persuasion to make me change my mind as I was already very close to abandoning any rational thoughts and going with my heart instead of my head.

After what seemed like forever, Emmett poked me rather urgently, and whispered loudly to the rest of us: "Look! It's Bella!"

We all looked up at this, and Jasper had to physically restrain Alice from running over to her straight away. I paid close attention to her to see when we had the opportunity to confront her.

Fortunately, our window of opportunity arose fairly quickly.

When she entered the room, she lingered around the doorway scanning the tables. She looked briefly over at us and then turned her attention to another table containing Mike Newton, Jessica Stanley, and the rest of their group. Mike waved her over, to which she returned his gesture and smiled. She was going to eat lunch with Newton? She hated him! And she frequently complained about how he acted like a 'golden retriever', drooling over and following forever by her side. I was ready to jump up from my seat then and demand what the hell she was doing. But I knew I had to wait. Patience is a virtue. Well, at least that's what people say. But it's easier said than done.

She walked off to get some lunch. She picked up the tray and then turned to look in our direction. When she did she looked quickly at the others and then her eyes locked with mine. She looked so lost, so.... apologetic? And most of all she looked caring. This was the Bella we loved. Not the dismissive, moody Bella that made an appearance this morning. She froze on the spot, and a few people skipped the queue to get past her, but she didn't seem to notice.

I realised that this was the opportunity that my family and I had been waiting for and I was wasting it by staring at her. Well, that wasn't going to solve much now, was it? So I tore my eyes away from her and turned back to my family, who had also been gazing at Bella.

"We need to go now, before she goes and sits with Newton and his friends, otherwise it will be the gossip of the town," I whispered to the rest of my family, who nodded and followed my lead when I pushed my chair back to get up.

Bella flinched at the sound of the scraping of our chairs, so I guessed that she was dreading talking to us. She quickly looked behind her to find the source of the noise. When she saw us, she seemed to tense up. She again turned around, back to her empty tray, and pulled her iPod out of her bag, unravelling the earphones and fiddling with the buttons before putting it into her pocket. I knew that tactic; it's what you did when you didn't want to talk to someone, so you pretend you can't hear because of the music, when really you just don't want to listen. Well, that wasn't going to work on me. I was going to_ make _her listen. Whether she wanted to or not. I wanted our Bella back.

I gestured to the rest of my family to walk towards Bella, which they quickly complied to do, all wearing similarly determined expressions.

We approached Bella as a group, making it harder for her to make an escape.

When we reached her, I hesitantly reached out to grip her wrist which made her flinch and spin around. She looked down at our the contact and looked almost... angry? That I was touching her? That definitely wasn't normal.

"Bella," I whispered. But she didn't look up. She didn't even acknowledge the fact that I had spoke. Oh yeah, the music. I was going to have to do something about that. With my other hand, I quickly removed the earphone from one of her ears, which finally jolted her into movement and she prevented my hand from removing the other.

"Bella, just talk to us. Please," I begged. She looked like she wanted to. But then her expression hardened and pulled her wrist back from my hand, which I reluctantly released. "Please, Bella. Don't be like this. Just tell us what we did so we can make it right. How can you expect anything to get better if you won't talk to us? How can you expect anything to get better if you won't tell us what we did wrong so we can fix this and move on? Whatever it was, we're sorry. Please, talk to us."

"I don't want to talk. I want to eat. So, if you'll excuse me, I want to go join my friends and enjoy the rest of my lunchtime," she said politely, but still she kept that mask of indifference on her face that was not Bella at all. None of us even moved a step to let her pass. "Okay, that translates less politely as: move the hell out of my way, get out of my face, and leave me alone so that I can go have fun without you lot."

Alice started sniffling at this last comment and Bella did look vaguely guilty about this. I knew the real Bella was still in there, and the real Bella hates seeing people upset, no matter who they are, and especially if she cares about them.

"I'm sorry, Alice. I just really don't want to talk about this. Especially now. I don't want to upset you. So, I'm gonna go, but I promise, I _will _talk to you at some point soon. I just can't at the moment, it's just too much for me. I'm sorry," was all Bella said before she passed us and walked to Mike's table.

We all just stood in silence. Shocked at Bella's attitude, but glad that we made some sort of progress. At least she agreed to talk to us.

We went back to sit at our original table, at which we spent the rest of lunch in almost complete silence, apart from the odd attempt at breaking the silence, which never actually worked, as none of us were very responsive and we didn't really want to talk to each other at that moment.

I heard the scraping of numerous chairs and looked up and noticed that Bella and her new group were leaving. At that moment, I didn't think about much apart from the fact that she was leaving and we still hadn't figured out why she was being so off.

I quickly jumped up, jogging across the room to reach the door. I peered down the corridor, spotting Bella on the left and running after her. This time I wasn't going to take no for an answer. I wasn't going to be so patient and gentle this time.

I grabbed her wrist and pulled on it so that she twirled around to face me. She wasn't expecting it, so when she span around she also fell forwards and so I found myself facing her, our faces merely inches away from each other. She looked up into my eyes, and I stared back at her. Confused by the feeling that I was experiencing. I was.... dazed. I didn't know what was happening. I wasn't aware of anyone around us. At this moment, a bomb could have hit the school and I wouldn't have been any the wiser.

She looked just as out of it as I was, until she managed to regain some control and realised whose eyes she was staring into and hastily looked down, releasing my from her gaze. Well, that was... weird. To say the least. I'd never experienced anything like that before.

Bella tried to back away from me, but I just tightened my grip on her wrist, keeping her in place. I was determined to get an answer this time. I couldn't wait until she was ready, I need to know now, so that I could sort this out and everything could go back to normal.

"You're not going anywhere this time. You're going to tell me what we did, and you're going to tell me _now_."

"What if I don't want to?" she challenged, the hardness returning to her eyes. Damn, I thought I was making some progress, but I'd just taken a huge step back by being too demanding.

"_Bella_. I need to know. You need to tell me what's going on."

"I don't _need _to do anything Edward. Especially something I don't want to do."

"Please, Bella," I decided to try begging. It normally worked on her. She was a sucker for the puppy-dog eyes. "Pleaseee," I whined. I probably sounded pathetic, but if it finally got an answer from her then I really couldn't care less.

"Don't you dare use that expression to try and crack me! It won't work this time, and that's a promise!"

Her stubbornness was really starting to get on my nerves. She _was _going to tell me.

"Well, what do you expect me to do then, huh?! What the _hell _am I supposed to do when you're acting like a complete cow and you won't even tell me what I've meant to have done?!" I almost shouted at her in my frustration.

"Maybe, you should leave me alone. If I'm such a cow, why would you want to be my friend anyway?!"

"Because I care, Bella! Because I care!"

"If you cared so much you would realise this is what I need. This is all for the best; for everyone," she said, quietly, suddenly looking deflated and upset.

"What do you mean?" She was silent and continued to gaze everywhere but at me. "Goddammit, Bella! Tell me!" Again she stayed silent. "_Tell me!_"

"You really don't want to know."

"Yes, I _really _do. Now, say it! _Now! _Please, Bella. Would you just stop -"

"Okay, you want to know, huh? You want to know why I won't talk to you? It's because I don't want to screw up my life. I don't want to get in too deep and find that I can't get out."

"What do you mean, Bella? I don't get it! Argh, this is so frustrating! Just tell me straight! Why aren't you talking you talking to us?! Wh -"

"Because I love you!"

**A/N: Hoped you liked it!**

**I promsie the next chapter won't take as long (if you review =P )**

**So, go on, press that button, and I'll update as soon as I can. Remember the target is 15 for a faster update!**


	7. Sorry This is important

**A/N: First of all, I'm really, really sorry for the lack of an update. I just keep finding myself with less and less time to write, so at the moment this story isn't going to be going anywhere fast, if I ever get round to writing more.**  
**So, I have made the decision to hand this story over to another. I've allowed her to make the story whatever she wants it to be, although the first few chapters will stay the same. I think she is a author called ForbiddenForevers, so check her out and you can continue reading my story (now her's, which she has renamed The Best Of Me) and I think she has a few more as well. It should be good, she's my sister, writing should run in the blood =P**

**Again, I'm sorry, but I'm sure she will be much better at updating the story than I would, and I'm sure you'd rather have a fast updater.**


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